Read about MFC in our latest features below

 

Photo taken by Jesse Burke

scientific american featuring mFC & the “slow flowers” movement

MFC was featured in an article entitled “The Beauty of ‘Slow Flowers’ versus the Pretty Poison of Plants Grown with Dangerous Chemicals” published on February 13th, 2025 that covers the history of the politics involved in the global floral trade and the influence that imported flowers have on the American market. The article also covers the harmful impact of the pesticides and fungicides used in foreign countries on mass-produced flowers and how they affect everyone from the workers on the farms, to their children, to the florists that handle them. The author highlights the growing ‘Slow Flower Movement’ and increased local flower production in the U.S. along with the opportunities that it provides in building community.

Maine organic farmers & gardeners (MOFGA) winter 2024-2025 issue

MFC was featured in the Winter 2024-2025 issue of Maine Organic Farmers & Gardeners published on January 15, 2025 written by Kathleen McLaughlin.

The article, titled “Petal Pushers: Expanding the Season for Local Blooms” is all about how Maine cut flower growers and producers are pushing the boundaries of seasonal extension in Maine and trialing different varieties and methods to expand the local floral market into the shoulder seasons.

Photo taken by Lee Cline of Fox Hollow Flowers

Maine Organic Farmers & Gardeners (MOFGA) Spring 2024 Issue

MFC was featured in the 50th anniversary edition of the Maine Organic Farmers & Gardeners’ quarterly publication published on March 1st, 2024 written by Jennifer Wilhelm.

The article, titled “Locally Grown, Not Flown: The Maine Flower Collective” is all about the story behind how we got started, and how we are operating to support local flower farmers and offer local wholesale floral buyers more sustainable options to traditionally imported alternatives.

News Center Maine Segment Featuring MFC Growers + Winter Tulips

News Center Maine aired a news segment on February 27th, 2024 which featured Don Carrigan interviewing two of our Member-Owner Growers, Mary Lou Hoskins, our Board President and owner of Cedar Mill Farm, and Julia Violette, owner of Paint Box Flowers to share their work towards season extension. The segment, titled “Maine-grown flowers hit the market, even in Winter” focuses on winter Tulips and other early Spring varieties that are locally grown and available to buyers even during winter months. They also discuss what the MFC is doing to promote season extension & locally-grown cut flowers to the Maine community.

Rooted Farmers Collective Feature Blog

Rooted Farmers interviewed our Operations Manager & Board Members and published the info in their Rooted Blog series (Collective Feature: Maine Flower Collective).

Rooted Farmers is the online marketplace that MFC uses for our Growers to post their weekly availability & for our Buyers to place pre-orders of that product during the season. This blog features a variety of different topics outlined below

  • MFC’s mission & vision

  • When our production season is

  • How we build trust among our growers & buyers

  • Improvements we’ve made during our first season of operations (2023)

  • What our favorite features of the Rooted platform are & how it has streamlined our workflow

Article by the cooperative development insitute

Using the Cooperative Development Institute's experience and guidance to help, The founders of the MFC used a collective model, emphasizing community and building relationships between florists/designers and flower farmers.

The article on the CDI website details some of the process we went through to form the collective, talks about how we are conducting research on ways to expand through the whole state, mentions our new in-person wholesale flower market, and features quotes from board president Mary Lou Hoskins and board treasurer Carolyn Snell.

Photo taken by John Sundling

Photo taken by Kelsey Kobik

downeast magazine - Febuary 2024 issue

This article starts with some of the history of flower farming in Maine and how so many of the flowers we buy here in the US come from overseas. Katy Kelleher spoke with several members of the MFC, highlighting what flower farmers in Maine are doing to extend the color and joy of flowers into colder months, where the only flowers available were from warmer climates. Now, using season extension techniques, Maine farmers are producing blooms earlier in the year and later into the fall and winter.

The Maine Flower Collective is working to get Mainers hooked on local flowers by building a network of growers and buyers and increasing the availability of Maine grown flowers.

Common ground radio hour - Febuary 2023 episode

In this episode of the Common Ground Radio, the focus is collaborative marketing models in Maine farming. Host Holli Cederholm is joined by Colleen Hanlon-Smith and Adrienne Lee of the Daybreak Growers Alliance and then joined by MFC growers Melissa Law and Courtney Mongell. They talk about the formation of the MFC, the choice to use a cooperative model, and the goals and values behind the MFC. Different from many other flower cooperatives, the MFC includes florists and floral designers as stakeholders in the collective. Listen to the episode to hear more about the collective from Melissa and Courtney.